Mining and loading machine



Dec, 16, 1924.

N. D. LEVIN MINING AND LOADIND MACHINE briginal' Filed Oct. 22, 1910 n "Immun Dec, 16, 1924.

N. D. LEVIN MINING AND LoADIND MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 22, 1910 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 SmA NNN

N. D. LEviN MINING AND LADIND MACHINE .Dec. 16 1924' Original Filed Oct. 22, 1910 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Dec. 16, 1924.

NILS D. LEVIN,

0F COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TG THE JEFFREY MANFACTUB/ING COMPANY, A GORPORATON 0F OHIO.

MINING AND LOADING MACHNE.

Original application filed October 22, 1910, Serial No. 588,471. Divided and this application filed August l, 1919, Serial No. 314.740. Renewed May 15, 1924.

adapted to dislodge the greater proportion' et the coal by mechanical breakage resulting trom the application ot pressure.

rl'he mechanism comprises devices for the torming oic openings or chambers in the' solid coal suitable to provide easement or clearance for laro'e circumjacent coal masses which can be moved, more or less, toward such openings or chambers when breakage strains are exerted upon said masses. It relates also to an arrangementot hydrostatically actuated devices by which pressure and breakage stresses can be applied to such masses at points along the walls of one ot said openings or chambers and on lines extending therefrom to another correlated opening or incision; also to the providing of hydrostatically actuated breaking devices which can be. advanced into an opening or incision while it is being made in the coal bed, and which will lie within the outlines ot the path of the cutter or incision-torming means; also to properly correlating a hystrostatic or iiuid pressure device a breakage device, an incision-forming device and a traine supporting them so that hydraulic power can be applied whenever desired to the breakage device; and also to the providing ot means at the rear of the breakage or pressure exerting means which will receive the broken down coal and take it away.

As concerns the detail parts of the apparatus use can be made ot any of the well known devices tor the several purposes.

There are numerous forms of cutters tor making or 'forming incisions in native or solid coal, such as rotary angers, saw-like cutters, reciprocating picks and the like. Similarly, as to the means tor taking away the broken coal, reciprocating conveyers, endless carrier belts and others have been used.

And in other applications tiled by me. namely, Serial No. 588,471, `tiledv October 22, 1910 (renewed as'Serial'No. 142,324) and Serial' No. 220,818, filed March G, i918, respectively, 1 have presented claims for the patentable features incident to the' auger as a specific form of cutter or incision maker, and claims for the patentable features ot the conveying apparatus.

The present application relates to the broader Jeatures ot the forming ot' correlated incisions or openings and exerting pressure at pointsin one ot' them on the coal masses lying between it and a related ineision and breaking the coal in t-he directionv of the latter, without' intending to limit myself to any particular lorm of cutter or incision device.

And while I have herein retained illustrations in the drawings similar to those. in the said earlier applicationSerialfNo. 588,471 (renewed as Serial No. 142,32@ which present an auger as' suoli cutter or incision maker, and give below description thereof in detail, it isto be' understood that l here regard such cutter as merely typical of any that were well known.

1nv4 the drawings- Fig'ure 1 is a' plan view ot a machine ot one of the forms which embody my improvements.

Figure 2 is a side` elevation ot chine.

Figure 3 is a partial side view.

Figure 4: is a vertical section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Figure 5 is a' partial longitudinal section ot the critter or auger and showing the h vdraulic breaking plungers.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 2.

Figure 7 is a side view oi a removable shaft section.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic View oft a coal face showing the manner ot breaking down the coal.

Referring in detail to the construction, A is the main trame of the machine: B is an endless conveyor mounted thereon; C a carriage slidably mounted on the trame A: D is an auger adjustabl).v mounted on the carriage C; Fi is a motor adapted to drive the auger and the conveyor B, and F is an auxiliary conveyor adapted to receive the inacoal from the conveyor B and discharge it into the cars.

The main frame A consists of a horizontally extending pan-like structure 1 having a central longitudinally extending rib meinber 2 which divides the pan into two parallel troughs. In these troughs are disposed the moving parts of the conveyor B which latter consists of a chain 3 carrying suitably spaced vanes or flights t. The rib part 2 serves as a guide for the conveyor chain. This chain preferably has its pivotjoints alternately at right angles to each other, as indicated in Figure 1, so that the chain is universally flexible. rlhis is necessary, because the rear part of the main frame A is inclined upward and rearward as shown in Figure 2.

The main frame A has a plate-like extension 5 which underlies the upwardly inclined portion of the frame. i yoke (5 which is mounted on the plate or base extends upward and over the .main part of the frame 1 to which it is rigidly attached. (lu the upper end ef the yoke is formed a bearing 7 for the vertical shaft S, and the lower part of this shaft has a bearing carried by the frame part 1. 1() is sprocket wheel fast on the vshaft 8 .vhich drives the conveyor chain 3, the shaft be ing driven by the motor This motor is mounted upon a bracket 11 carried by the inclined part of the main 'traine ji, the shaft 12 of said motor having` a bevel pinion i3 which meshes with the bevel gear let on the shaft 8. The endless conveyor' at its front end passes over a sprocket wheel 15 which is suitably mounted on the frame fr.

The carriage C consists of a base part it which is slidably mounted upon the rib 2 ofthe frame (see Figure L1), and upstanding bearing arms or pedestals 17, 18. The motor shaft 12 has a forward extending section 12a. The rear end of the shaft section i2 is supported by a bearing bracket 1la and is connected by a disengageable clutch device 12b to the motor shaft 12. ylhe front end of the shaft 12a is disposed in the bearings of the pedestals 17, 18. Disposed between the pedestals 17 and 1 8 and n'iounted upon the shaft 12a is al swinging yoke or radius arm 19. The rear branch or arm lil of this yoke is formed at its vinner end with a segmental worm wheel 20. 21 is a worm which is mounted in a bearine' bracht secured to the rear pedestal l! e i riage. This worm meshes with the segmental worm wheel and can be turned bjr means of a crank 23 to cause the yoke 1S? to swing about its axis, it being understood that the shaft 12a turns freely in the yoke.

The auger l) is rotatably meunted in the free ends of the yoke arms 19, 19h, and is driven by the large spur gear 241 which is slidably keyed on the shaft 12L and wl'i'ich meshes with a spur pinion 25 secured to the shaft ef the auger D. The auger in its preferred form carries cutting tools 26, 26 at its front end. It will be seen that with the auger mounted in the manner shown and described, it is possible to drive it from the inotor in any7 one of a variety of positions in which it may be placed by swinging the yoke 19 through something over 180o. The carriage C upon which the auger is mounted is, as it was stated, slidably mounted upon the main frame, and a screw 27 which is mounted at its rear end in a bearing 28 and which at itsr forward end is threaded through the base of the carriage, serves to nio've the carriage backward and forward on the main frame, a hand crank 29 being provided to turn the screw.

The auger l? is provided with means for breaking the coal down after the auger has been driven into the coal. i preferred form of the breaking means is shown in the drawing.. A. series of hydraulic plungers 30, 30 are mounted in cylindrical cavities 31, 31 formed in the auger, the cylinders and plungers being disposed transversely of the auger and in one axial plane thereof. The cylindrical cavities 31, 31 communicate with each other through passages 32, 32, and the rearmost cavity of the auger is in communication with thcpassage 33 which leads to the rear end of the auger shaft where it issues axially. 3st is a hand force pump which is mounted upon a bracket 35 of the carriage C. rThis pump has its suction pas sage in communication with reservoir 36 which contains a supply of water or other suitable liquid. rllhe discharge pipe 37 of the pump is connected to a hose 38 which in turn is connected to the passage 33 of the auger, the hose being provided at its discharge end with a nozzle which extends through a suitable stufiing bor l0. 111 is a by-pass pipe leading from the discharge pipe 3'? of the pump into the reservoir 3G. rihe by-pass is controlled by a hand actuated control valve 42.

When the pump is actuated, the by-pass` 41 being closed, the liquid is forced through the hose 38 and passages 33, 32 into the` cylinders 31 and causes the plungers 30 to be forced outward. A spring d3 is mounted under the head of each of the plungers 3l? and serves to retract the plunger when the liquid pressure is withdrawn, which is done by opening the valve 42 in the by-pass lil so that the liquid can flow freely back into the reservoir 36.

it will be seen that after the auger has been driven forward into the coal, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the hydraulic pressure can be applied to the plungers mounted in. the auger to break down the underlying coal upon the endless conveyor which extends into the bottom ke-rf, it being understood Iii thatsaid bottom hert is previously cut by any of the Well lnoivn undercutting devices. The coal thus broken down is carried rearward by the endless conveyor l5, and in order that it may be discharged into cars without manual labor, l provide the auxiliary conveyor F.

The conveyorI F comprises a main trame part Llll in the form of an elongated pan which is divided by a central longitudinal rib part elfi into tivo parallel troughs to receive the moving parts ot the conveyor which, as shown, comprises a chain yt6 and tlights The conveyor vtrame 44 has its front and rear end parts horizontal with an intermediate inclined part. Vlt is supported upon a truck e8, the rear end ot the conveyor traine feit being provided with a depending pivot pin eti) which extends loosely through an aperture in the upper end ot a bracket on the truck, the trame 4:4 carries on its under side a wheel 5l which is de signed to run upon an arcuate plate on the truck platform. rllhus mounted on the truck, the frame can be swung through a considerable range about the pivot 4:9.

in operation the conveyor F has its receiving end disposed beneath the rear end ot the conveyor B, and preferably the conveyor F is driven from theI motor E 'which drives the conveyor B. is the drivingl sprocket wheel on the conveyor F, it beii :j i'nounted on a short shaft 54 which is mounted in a snit-able bearing carried by thel pan 4.1i ol the conveyor. (See Figure 6.) Fin idle sprocket wheel 56 tor the conveyor chain 46 is mounted in a similar manner at the rear end ot thc conveyor F. rllho upper tace of the sprocket Wheel is termed with clutch teeth 5T which are adapted to be engaged bv the teeth et a sliding clutch 58 which is slidably connected upon the lower end of the sha tt 6 and which can be raised and lowered by a hand lever `When the receiving end oitl the conveyor F has been moved under the discharge end of the conveyor' B, tl

ne driving sprocket 53 ot the former conveyor can be operatively connected to the shaft ot the conveyor' E by simply lowering` the. clutch 58. ln this Way too the tivo conevors are pivotally or flexibly connected lo cach other, and as the truclrlS is tree to move on the track. it Will be seen that the conveyor F Will be automatically maintained in Working relation ivith the main trame A ot' the machine when the latter is moved laterally alongl the tace ol the coal To effect the lateral movement ot the machine along the tace, l provide suitable power devices as follows:

On the base part 5 of the main trame A is mounted a stud shaft 60 upon which is rotatably mounted a spur gear 6l. This gear has on its upper side clutch teeth 62 which are at all times in engagement With the teeth ot a sliding clutch 63. 6e is a toothed clutch disc tast on the lower end of the shaft 5t ot' conveyor F, and by sliding the clutch 63 upivard into engagement With the disc 64, the latter is connected to the gear 6i.. 65 is a suitably mounted hand lever designed to shift the clutch 63. 66 is a Winding drum arranged to turn about a vertical axis, and 6T is a large spur gear connected to said drum and mounted in mesh With the gear 6l. Une end ot' the cable 68 is secured to the Winding drum 66 and thence entends to the lett parallel to the tace, passes over pulleys 69 and TO which are anchored in any suitable manner by jacks or props il, T2, and thence passes along the tace ot thi.x coal to the machine, being .made tast at 73 to the main 'traine A. lt will be seen that when the clutch 63 is thrown to operative position, the Winding` drum (S6 is turned causing the cable to be Wound up and the niachine to be drawn laterally along` the face ot the coal. Furthermore the constructiorL and arrangement oit these devices is such that they are adapted to move the main 4 me laterally in parallelism so that it is n'iaintained at the saine angle to the coal face,

it is a pulley mounted on the base 5 at the leit't side ot the machine, and is adapted to have the cable 68 passed over it and extended `forward to a point adjacent the 'tace oi the coal and there made tast when it is desired to move the machine endwise into the bottom kerl'.

ift is at times desirable'to drive the Winding drum 66 When the conveyor l? is not in ope ative position. To malte this possible, l provide a short shatt section i' which is shown in lfdigure 7. This shaft is designed to be inserted between the movable clutch members 5S and 63 and is formed at its ends With teeth to engage the teeth oit said clutch members. By inserting the shatt section 75, the gear 6l can be connected to the shatt 8 and vdriven trom the motor E.

One Way in which the machine can be used Will be readily understood `trom the foregoing description. Let it be assumed that it is to be used in mining on the room and pillar plan: the procedure is as Ytollows:

it bottoni hert in the coal is Ytorn'ied b v any desired means. n. machine such as above described placed Where it can be used to torni clearance opening or chambers. as at a. in the lower regions of the solid vein and also form chambers above the lower ones, the latter providing easement 'tor the upper coal when pressure exerted upon it, Aitor the carriage` C has been fully retracted. the cable 66 is passed over the pulley Tiland carried 'forward along the side'ot the machine, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure l, and made tast at a point adjacent the i'ace. The movable shaft section 75 having been placed in position between the clutches 58 and G3, the motor is ynow started so as to turn the winding drum 66 and draw the machine endwise toward the tace ot the coal. When the front end oit the main frame A and the conveyer B have been projected Yfully into the bottom kerf oi" the coal, the motor` is stopped, the shaft section 75 removed, and the conveyer F is run into operative position and connected by means ot the clutch 58 with the shaft S of the conveyer B.

'Ihe yoke which carries the auger D is then swung over to the left by actuating the crank 23 until it approaches a horizontal position, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 4. This brings the auger into the position corresponding to the circle a in Figure 8. The motor is now started so as to rotate the auger D, and the carriage is gradually fed forward by turning the screw 27.

When the opening made by the auger has been carried as far as desired the pump 34 is put into action to torce liquid into the plunger chambers, and the plungers 30 are caused to exert pressure against the wall around the incision made b v the auger. This pressure causes the mass ot coal which lies between the incision a and the clearance chamber provided by the undercut to move downward, deflect-ion of this mass away trom its native bed being now permitted. It is broken do-wn in the manner indicated in Fig. 8 of the drawing. It falls upon the conveyer B part of which. is to the rear ot the cutter and of the breaking down devices, and the conveyer carries it rearward and discharges it into the conveyer F which in turn discharges it into a mine car. The operator, when he desires, can retract the hydraulic plungers by opening the by-pass valve 42.

The coal below the incision a. having been broken down and a clearance opening or easement chamber' a having been formed, the carriage C is retracted by screw 27, and the auger cutter is then swung over to the right to a position properly correlated to that of the incision or chamber at c, a. This is conventionally illustrated by b in S and is preferably somewhat above the position of the previous incision at e.

The clutch l2b is then thrown into operative position and the cutter is again fed forward. When it has been carried in far enough the pump 34 and the plungers 30 are again brought into action. The wall of the easement incision and chamber at a, a now permit the deflection thereinto of the coal between them and the incision at When suilicient pressure in the incision Z2 is reached the intervening coal is forced toward the opening or chamber at a, a and is broken from the solid. It drops down rearward (relative to the line of advance, bodily, ot the cutters) onto the conveyer and is carried backward to the car.

Then the carriage having again been retracted, the pulley blocks 69 and 70 are made fast at suitable points to the left of the machine, and the cable 68 is passed around the pulleys 69 and 70 and thence back to the machine to which it is made fast at 73. The winding drum 66 is now started by throwing in the clutch 63, and the cable is thus wound up until the machine is drawn `far enough to the left' to make additional cuts with the auger. Preferably the machine will be moved far enough so that the auger, when swung to an upright position, will occupy the position indicated by the circle c in Fig. 8. Wth the auger in this position, the carriage is again fed forwardA and the operation of incision-making, breaking down and loading is repeated. In this case the walls oi the earlier incision and clearance cham` ber at a, a provide easement for the mass of material between the incisions, and when the pressure in the chamber c becomes sufficient the coal breaks toward the said opening.

I do not herein claim any of the speciic matters of novelty incident to the auger as a particular n'ieans of forming the incisions to receive the breaking devices having presented such claims in my said application Serial No. 588,471, renewed as Serial No. 142,324, of which this application is a division.

vl/Vhat I claim is:

l. The combination of the movable main frame, the means thereon and moving therewith for supplying fluid under pressure, the cutter support carried by said frame and having a duct communicating with the pressure fluid supply, the relatively movable breaking devices on said support actuated by the pressure of the fluid in said duct, and the cutters on said support arranged to form an incision or opening through which the support can travel and which will permit the breaking devices to be normally positioned within the outlines of the path formed by the cutters, when traveling.

2. The combination of the movable main trame, the means thereon Afor supplying fluid under pressure, the cutter supportcarried by said frame and having a duct eX- tending along the support and communicating with the pressure fluid supply, relatively movable breaking devices on the support actuated by the pressure of the iluid in said duct, and cutting means on said support adapted to form an incision or opening through which the support can travel, said breaking devices normally lying within the outlines of the path formed by the cutters Sio llO,

but adapted to be forced under Huid pressure to points outside of said outlines.

3. The combination of the movable main frame, the means thereon for supplying `Huid under pressure, the cutter support oarried by said frame and having a duet communicating with the pressure fluid supply, the breaking devices movably mounted on said support and actuated by the pressure l0 of the fluid in said duet, the cutters arranged to travel in advance of the breaking devices and form an incision or opening through Which said support can travel, the breaking;r devices normally positioned Within the outlines oit' the path formed by the Cutters but adapted at option to be forced by the pressure fluid in said duet to points outside of said outlines.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

NILS D. LEVIN. 

